Steven and The Gems Play Video Games
by HistoryNut387
Summary: After coming across a box of games from all eras, Steven decides to treat the gems to a few good times. (completely silly scenario)
1. Chapter 1

**Steven and The Gems Play Video Games**

 **Chapter 1: Dark Souls**

Steven grunted and huffed as he pulled a very large box into the house. It had been quite a walk from that lady's house, but soon it would all be worth it.

While on his way to the car wash to talk to his dad, Steven came across a yard sale at one of the few houses that he had not been near, nor properly acquainted with the people who lived there. Feeling curious, Steven decided to have a look through what was being sold. At first, it didn't result in anything more than old clothes and shabby looking furniture. That is, until he got to the back table.

There, he found an assortment of different toys and odd little knick-knacks. As he was browsing through some of the old stuffed animals, a cardboard box labeled "games" caught his eye. Walking up to the box, he wasn't expecting much. After everything else he saw there, he wasn't expecting more than a few board games. But he was very wrong.

Upon taking a peak into the box, Steven was immediately starry eyed at what he saw. An assortment of video games and video game consoles. Everything from old to new, it was there.

The expression must have attracted attention, because an old lady came up to him and asked him if he found something he liked. Steven quickly regained his composure and greeted the old lady who introduced herself as Elaine. After a brief period of getting to know each other, Steven asked her why she was giving the games away. She went on to tell him that they belong to her son, and she didn't know what to do with them after he moved out.

Steven immediately became elated and asked how much the games were. The old woman thought about it for a moment, and decided that she would sell him the entire box of games for only $50.

Needless to say, Steven could hardly believe what he was hearing. A nearly endless supply of games, all for only $50?! He knew he had to have it. Only problem: He didn't have $50. He didn't even have $5.

Quickly excusing himself from the elderly woman, Steven made a mad dash to his fathers car wash. Upon arriving, Greg was quite happy to see that his son decided to visit out of the blue. After a very quick exchange of greetings, Steven gave his dad the details of what happened on his way there. At first Greg was a little unsure about this deal his son told him but, after a little arm twisting, Greg eventually gave in and gave his son the money.

Steven barley heard his dad say something about working it off at the car wash he was so excited. With the money in hand, Steven bolted back to the woman's house, hoping that she hadn't given it to someone else. To his relief, the box was still there. After finding Elaine, Steven happily gave her the money. She smiled and told him it was all his.

Now, with his big find finally home, Steven wasted no time getting ready for what would surely be the best several days of his young life. After throwing a bag popcorn into the microwave and getting getting several cans of soda, Steven set to work hauling his TV downstairs into the living room. After setting the TV in the right place and laying out all the snacks he would need, he began looking through the box, trying to decide on which system to play first.

He eventually just decided to go with the first one he saw. After hooking the system up to the TV, he opened the console up to see if anything was in it. Sure enough, there was. Upon seeing the game, however, he had feeling of both excitement and apprehension. The game in question... was "Dark Souls".

"Steven, what is all of this?" he heard.

Steven looked up, only to see Peridot looking at everything and making a motion with her hand towards all of snacks and the TV that was now in the living room.

"Oh, hey Peridot. I was just getting ready to try out some of these new games that picked up today. An old lady sold me all this stuff for really cheap." he said, pointing out the large box next to the couch.

Peridot gave a look of confusion before moving to take a peek inside the cardboard box. Inside were many wires, cartridges, discs, controllers and hardware. To her, a lot of this tech looked beyond outdated.

"What's all this stuff used for?" she asked him.

"It's just for having fun, maybe getting a challenge, or even getting caught up in a story." Steven explained, reaching for a handful of popcorn.

"How does that work?" she asked, looking at one of the game cases that she picked up.

"Come here and I'll show you." Steven said, patting the seat next to him.

At first, Peridot thought about refusing, but after a few moments of thinking, she was genuinely curious about what these thing could be. Without a word, she took a seat on the couch, intent on only observing.

"So, how do these things 'give you a challenge'." she asked, looking at the controller in Stevens hands.

"Well... how about you see for yourself?" Steven said, handing the controller to her.

Peridot just sort of looked at the device he was handing her, wondering if she should or not. She slowly reached her hand out, figuring there wasn't anything to loose. Steven smiled at her, happy that she was willing to at least try.

"Oh, wait!" Steven said in realization, "I better get a different game. This ones known to be really hard."

"Oh, please." Peridot said, slightly offended by his words, "I have expertise in both technology and star ship piloting. You really think that this is going to difficult for me?"

"Well... OK, if you're sure." Steven said reluctantly, "Just don't get freaked out when the controller starts to vibrate. 'Cause it's gonna happen a lot."

Steven took his seat, grabbing the bowl of popcorn and soda while he and Peridot waited for the game to load. After a quick tutorial on how things work (like buttons and so forth), Peridot made it to the main menu and started making her character.

"Wait, why can't I change the skin color to my own" Peridot asked.

"It's only human characters." Steven replied, waiting for her to start.

"Well that's not far." Peridot whined, "Alright, fine. Let's just get this started so I can show you that no technology is out of my range of mastering."

Steven looked nervously between the TV and Peridot, hoping she was right. He had heard stories about people become infuriated with this game. But he kept quiet, not wanting to deter her. As soon as she was done making her character, Peridot started the game.

"In the Age of Ancients, the world was unformed, shrouded by fog." a breathy woman's voice said.

*1 hour later

The big letters YOU DIED appeared once again on the screen. A loud shout was heard well through out the house and Steven couldn't help but cringe after hearing it so many times.

"How is that fair!" Peridot shouted, "It didn't even hit me!"

"Maybe the shock wave hit you?" Steven guessed, having scooted away from Peridot not too long ago.

"Well I'm about to hit this game with a shock wave!" Peridot yelled.

"What it is going on?" said another voice. Both of them looked up to Jasper walking into the house.

"Hey Jasper." Steven greeted her, "Me and Peridot are just playing some new games I got."

"Games?" Jasper asked, looking at all the stuff the two had around them. Like Peridot, she was at first confused.

"Yeah, come and watch! Peridot's trying beat this one right now." Steven said happily, all the while Peridot simply stared at the TV screen, seething with anger.

Jasper wasn't quite sure what was going on, but if it was enough to make Peridot freak out like what she was hearing, she had to stay and watch. She quickly found a seat and grabbed one of the sodas on table.

Five minutes later, and the all too familiar words appeared on screen again. Rather than screaming again, Peridot opted to bite the controller instead. Steven went slightly wide eyed when he saw, while all Jasper could do was snicker.

"SHUT UP!" Peridot shouted at Jasper.

"Don't be getting short with me now Peridot." Jasper said, chuckling at her own joke. This caused peridot to get so angry that her face started to change color.

"I'd like to see you do any better." Peridot said scornfully.

"Fine, give it here." Jasper said nonchalantly as Peridot handed her the controller. "Your problem is that you've never actually had to fight before. If you knew what you were doing, it'd a walk in the park."

Just as soon as Jasper started to fight, she was hit from behind and immediately lost all her health.

'YOU DIED'

Jasper was at first dumb struck, but once she regained herself she looked over to Perisot and Steven. Steven just shrugged his shoulders, but Peridot was giving her the smuggest of smiles.

"I'm not used to fighting like this. Just give me a bit to get it down, and I'll have this fast than you know it."

"Uh-huh, sure Jasper." Peridot said mockingly.

*2 hours later

'YOU DIED'

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Jasper roared, "He pushed me off the edge!"

"Well that happens in real life Jasper." Peridot said, grinning to herself.

"I don't wanna hear another word out of you," Jasper threatened, "I've gotten way farther than you have!"

"Yeah, but you also died a lot more than me." Peridot mocked.

Jasper ignored the last comment and went back to the game. After managing to avoid being pushed off again and killing the enemy, she was promptly hit in the head with an arrow which drained what little life she had left.

Jaspers eyes widened in anger, she flexed her arms, and then proceeded to completely crush the controller in her hands like it was a pinata.

"Hey!" Steven said, upset over losing the controller.

"Forget this! I'm done!" Jasper shouted, and folded her arms as she leaned back onto the couch with and angry grimace on her face.

Peridot peeked over to get a look, only to be met with eyes that were issuing her a warning. But it was only met with another smile.

"I swear Peridot," Jasper growled, "one word out of you and-"

"So how many times did that happen in real combat?" Peridot asked in a calm voice.

Jasper visibly clenched her teeth, and then made an attempt to jump at Peridot. Only to be stopped by Steven blocking her path. While that was happening, Peridot tried scurry to the farthest corner of the couch.

"Hey, that is enough you two." a calm voice said as it pulled Jasper off of three of them were so engrossed with everything going on that they didn't notice Garnet enter the house mere minutes ago.

After breaking up the fight, Japser and Peridot both sat down and folded their arms, giving each other angered glares.

"Look, I saw what happened." Garnet began, "It's clear that you two are letting this game get the better of you. If you can't learn to control yourselves, I'm taking it away."

"Oh, come on." Steven whined.

"Psh, easy for you to say." Jasper said, "This thing hits you harder than a truck going full speed."

"Maybe," Garnet said, "But that's no excuse for acting that way. You two just need to learn how to take a breath and calm down. It's only a game."

"We need to calm down? It's only a game?" Jasper said, utter floored by Garnets words, "Well, hot shot, why don't you prove it?"

Garnet remained stoic, simply staring at Jasper, who was giving her conceited look. They stood there for a short while until Garnet extended her hand towards Steven. He didn't need to be told anything, he simply reached into the box and pulled out another controller.

"Alright then, sit back." Garnet said, taking a seat. "The entire point of games is to have fun. And that's exactly what I intend to do."

*90 minutes later

'YOU DIED'

"...wwwwwWWWWHHHAAAATTTT?!" Ruby shouted, "What was that!? That doesn't even make sense!"

"Ruby, calm down." Sapphire said, keeping her voice leveled.

"Don't you tell me to calm down!" Ruby shot back, "You saw that! I was no where near it, but I got hit some how!"

"That's no excuse to be acting like this." Sapphire said, trying to keep Ruby from going up in flames.

Ruby simply sat and grumbled to herself as she tried to pick up where she had to start from again. She didn't last long before she died again. Rather than yelling, she clenched her teeth hard and squeezed the control tight.

"Ruby, your burning it." Sapphire said to her.

Ruby looked down, noticing that that smoke was coming off the controller.

"Fine," Ruby said angrily, dropping the thing on the table "You try it, then we'll see who's acting ridiculous."

The entire time this was happening, Steven, Jasper and Paridot were all looking at the entire scene absolutely horrified. Steven thought it was bad when the other two played, but Garnet got so mad that she separated. And it took a lot for that to happen.

"Very well." Sapphire said, picking up the controller, "Maybe I won't get as far, but I won't let this get to me."

*Another 90 minutes later

'YOU DIED'

Sapphire simply stared at the screen, not moving a muscle. The controller in her hands was starting to coat with ice, as well as her spot on the couch. The other four dared not say a word, lest they invoke something demonic.

"It's... fine. I'll just try again." Sapphire said, very desperately trying to keep herself composed.

She tried again, lasting even less time then she did before. When those words appeared on screen again, the control became nothing but a block of ice, which instantly shattered as she clenched her hands into fists.

"I'll make sure to get you a new controller Steven." she said, anger now starting to leak into her voice as she began to tremble.

"Easy, Easy Sapphire," Ruby said, rushing to her side to get her away from the TV. "Come on, let's have a seat over. How about a drink? A shoulder rub? Anything you need, anything at all."

"They both sound... lovely right now." Sapphire said, trying to keep her tone subdued.

"I'm on it! Don't move a muscle, I'll be right back." Ruby said in hurried tone as she darted off.

"I apologize. It would seem you were right about this... thing." Sapphire said turning to the other three.

"D-D-Don't worry about it." Peridot stuttered, peaking from behind a blanket.

"Yeah... it's... not your fault." Steven said slowly, clutching his toy bear close.

"I-I-I-It happens to... the best of us." Jasper replied, barley poking her head out from behind the couch.

"So this is were all of you have been." Pearl said as she came into the living room.

Just as she said that, Ruby rushed by her with a cup in her hand, which she quickly gave to Sapphire. Pearl continued to look onward as Ruby went around behind Sapphire and started massaging her shoulders.

"What has been going on in here?" Pearl asked.

"We were playing a game." Steven said.

"And it's really, really hard." said Peridot.

"It got under our skin worse then bed bugs... that's a saying, right?" Jasper added.

"It's been... a little stressful." Sapphire said, the cup starting to ice over in her hand as Ruby tried desperately to de-stress her.

"It's hasn't exactly been fun." Ruby said, continuing her work on Sapphire's shoulders.

"So that's what all that yelling was about?" Pearl questioned as she looked at all of them nod. "You can't be serious? It can not possibly be that hard."

Everyones eyes went wide simultaneously, and they all turned there heads to pearl... And then promptly burst into laughter.

"Ow, ow, my sides!" Peridot said, her hands over her stomach as she laughed hysterically.

"OH, if only you knew!" jasper wailed as she slammed her fist on the couch.

"AHAHAHAHA, she has nooooo idea!" laughed Ruby.

"I must say, I'm feeling a little better after that." Sapphire said, trying to contain her giggles.

"What?" Pearl asked, starting to get annoyed, "What on earth is so funny?"

"Lets just put it this way pearl," Steven said, managing to calm down a bit, "This is not for the faint of heart."

"Oh, is that the case?" Pearl questioned, a hint of anger in voice, "Well, we'll see who's faint of heart. Let me try it."

"Uh, Pearl" Steven started, "I don't think that-"

"No, Steven, let her." Jasper interrupted, then started whispering in his ear, "This is exactly what all of us need right now. This will be hilarious."

After thinking for a second, Steven knew Jasper was right. This would definitely be the laugh break that all of them so desperately needed after a day like this.

"OK pearl. Here you go." Steven said with a grin as he handed pearl the controller, "We'll get you started."

Pearl took the device from his hands and sat down in front of the TV. After getting a quick tutorial on everything by Steven, pearl got to making her character.

"Steven, will this one always look like this during the game?" Pearl asked as she looked at on of the classes.

"Uh, no pearl. You pick up other Armour and weapons later on." Steven answered, trying to contain his laughter as he looked at which class she chose.

"Well, that's good." Pearl sighed in relief, "This is the most well rounded fight out of all of them. Let's begin then." Pearl then selected her class: Deprived.

"In the Age of Ancients, the world was unformed, shrouded by fog."

*2 hours later

'VICTORY ACHIEVED'

"Well, that one was quite a handful." Pearl said as she watched the Capra Demon fall to ground and disappear. "Hopefully none of the others were like that."

*1 hour later

'VICTORY ACHIEVED'

Pearl smiled to herself as she watched The Chaos Witch fall before her.

"Phew, that one took me a few times. Definitely starting to see what you guys mean now." she said to all of them.

*another hour later

'VICTORY ACHIEVED'

"That was easily the hardest fight yet." Pearl said, taking a breath, "I thought it would be easier after one of them was dead, but then they fuse? I must say, I have true respect for them as enemies."

*2 more hours later

Pearl watched as her character set fire to her own soul, reigniting the flame. As the fire began to burn again, the kiln erupted back into an inferno once more. After seeing this, Pearl let out a heavy sigh.

'DARK SOULS'

"Well, hopefully, that did." Pearl said, placing the controller down. "Hopefully it will stay burning long enough until the next one who is worthy enough arrives. Well, I must say I rather enjoyed that Steven. I honestly didn't expect to get that much fun out of it. Thank you for letting me in on this."

Pearl waited for a response, but got none.

"Steven?" Pearl called, looking over at him. She met with Stevens wide eyes and gaping mouth as he just sat there staring at the screen. She waved her hand in front of his face , snapped her fingers but not nothing was getting him out of the trance.

"Oh no. Everyone, I think somethings wrong with Steven." she said. But, again, didn't receive a response.

Pearl turned around, only to see everyone having the same expression as Steven. A fly even landed on Jaspers eye, but she didn't even flinch.

"Oh boy," Pearl said, putting her hand over her face, "What am I going to do about this?"

Just then she felt a tug at her arm, and when she turned around, she saw Steven Standing there with a shirt.

"Pearl, this belongs to you." Steven said in a shocked, deadpan tone.

"Where did this come from?" Pearl asked as she took the shirt from him.

"I don't know, but you have the right to wear it." He answered in the same tone.

"Well, thank you Steven." she said as she slipped the shirt on. "HM, perfect fit." She said looking down at what the shirt said.

"Git Gud"

"Oh, well that's charming." Pearl said sarcastically, laughing to herself, "Well, I appreciate this Steven, but it is about bed time. Go get ready."

Steven moved without saying a word, still holding the shocked look. As he walked off to the bathroom, pearl came with him. As she walked with him, she didn't realize that there were words on her back as well.

"What are you, Casual?"

After pearl and Steven left, the other four continued to stare onward. Until Jasper fell over, hitting the ground with enough force to wake the dead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Metal Gear Solid 3**

The very next day, Steven immediately started digging through the box once more. After picking out another system, he got to work hooking it up. After once again getting all of the snacks and other things in order, he began looking through all of the games, and found one he thought would be great.

After pulling his head out of the box, Steven went to put the game in. As he did, he saw Peridot walking by and decided to flag her down.

"Hey Peridot, I'm gonna be playing a different game today, you wanna join?" he asked.

"If it's anything like the last one, absolutely not." Peridot said, disdain strong in her voice.

"Aw, come on." Steven prodded, "It has absolutely nothing to do with that game. It doesn't look like it, and it definitely doesn't play like it."

"Well, then how does it play?" Peridot asked, still unsure.

"You are Solid Snake," Steven said, reading the back of the box, "An elite soldier that must combine stealth and survival to save the world from the threat of the largest full-scale war it has seen, at the hands of a dreaded weapon of mass destruction. Going behind enemy lines in this riveting story of peace, love and betrayal... Or at least that's what it says on the back."

For some reason, Peridot was taken in by the way the game sounded. From what it sounded like, you wouldn't need to rely on combat in order to beat this game. It sounded like you needed to fall back on your wits. Maybe this was her chance to redeem herself.

"Alright," she said, "but if turns into anything like the last game, I'm not sticking around."

Steven smiled, hoping that this time around she would be able to get some fun out of it. After Peridot took her seat on the couch, Steven got to work getting everything ready for her. Even going so far as to give Peridot the manual so she had a good idea of how things worked.

"From what I heard people say, this game is pretty heavy. I don't know much else other than that though." Steven informed her as she read.

"As long as it isn't like the last one, I think I'll be fine." Peridot said, quickly reading through the manual in no time flat.

"Don't kid yourself." a gruff voice said. The two of them looked up, seeing that it was in fact Jasper once again. "Knowing you, you'll flip out the instant something doesn't work the way you want it to."

"Thanks soooo much for your support, Jasper," Peridot said, her voice heavy with sarcasm, "Why don't you pull up a seat, make yourself comfy, and continue to shower me with your riveting remarks."

"Don't mind if I do." Jasper said, taking a seat on the couch.

"Apparently sarcasm is lost on apes." Peridot remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Alright, enough guys." Steven said, breaking up the arguing, "We don't want a repeat of yesterday."

"What about yesterday?" they heard Pearl ask as she came into the room. Immediately when she entered, she was greeted with both Jaspers and Peridots bitter looks.

"Do you really need to keep that on?" Jasper asked, referring to the shirt Pearl received last night.

"Oh, come on you two, is it really that big a deal?" Pearl asked, taking a seat opposite of Jasper.

Peridot wasn't paying much attention, but Jasper simply stared at her resentfully as she leaned back into the couch and folded her arms. She knew this wasn't over. Some how, she would find a way to best Pearl.

"Okay, ready Peridot?" Steven asked, handing her the controller.

"I think so." Peridot said, looking at the controller whilst she recalled what all the buttons did.

"Alright, let's get started then!" Steven said excitedly as he hit the power button.

"What's she playing this time?" Pearl asked as the logos of the game started flashing by. Steven simply handed her the box, intent on paying attention to the story.

"After the end of World War II, the world was split into two – East and West. This marked the beginning or the era called the Cold War." the narrator said.

"Finally on October the 28th, The Soviet Union agreed to remove it's missiles from Cuba." the man said.

"This all actually happened?" Pearl asked Steven. Who only received a nod from the boy as he listened intently.

Just then, Amethyst walked into living room. The first thing she noticed was the snacks on the table, and immediately helped herself to some.

"Hey guys, what're you up to?" Amethyst asked. Only to be shushed by Peridot.

"We're watching Peridot play a game." Jasper answered, and was also shushed by Peridot.

"So what did the Russians really want?" another voice said from the TV.

"From what I heard, that isn't exactly the best idea." Amethyst said, only to be shushed by Pearl this time.

"I guess we'll find out." Jasper said, trying to keep her voice as low as possible.

After the story that Amethyst heard about yesterday, she was more than alright with having a seat and seeing if Peridot was actually going to loose it on the game. Taking a seat next to Jasper, she took a big drink of her soda and watched the screen.

"If we don't get Sokolov back before that weapon is complete, we'll be facing a major crisis. The clock is ticking." the man in th game said.

"I still can't believe that." Lapis said as she opened the door to the house, letting Garnet go in first.

"Yeah well it's true." Garnet replied, "I just can't believe, out of all of us, she was the one to go and do it."

Just as Lapis was about to reply, she looked into the living room to see everyone huddled together on the couch. She'd heard about what had happened, and really hoped there wasn't a repeat incident going on in front of her.

"What's going on here?" Lapis asked cautiously.

"Hey Lapis, hey Garnet." Steven greeted them, only to be Shushed by Jasper this time. "We're playing a different game today."

"Hopefully not like the last one." Garnet said in a warning tone, only to be shushed by Amethyst.

"It's been 5 years, 72 days, and 18 hours." The two heard the voice from the TV say.

Lapis and Garnet walked up to see what was on the screen, and saw that it was in fact a different game than yesterday. Garnet herself was in no mood to play another game after yesterday, but she figured that it would be best if she stayed and observed in case things got out of hand again. Lapis, on the other hand, was genuinely interested in what might happen. After the story that Garnet told her, she really wanted to see just how these things could effect people. So, both of them decided to take a seat and watch.

"So what's been happening so far?" Garnet whispered to Pearl.

Snake looked through the binoculars, seeing the nest of bees in the distance. He put the binoculars down, smiling at his luck.

"Oh, I see what he's thinking." Steven said.

"What?" Peridot asked, "What is he thinking?"

"Well, that thing is full of bees," Steven told her, "And if you get bees angry, they have a tendency to hurt things around them."

It took Peridot a second to understand what he meant, but she did get what he was hinting at. Once the cut scene was over, she flipped through her weapons and pulled out the silenced pistol. Taking her time to aim carefully, she put one round into the hive, causing it to fall. As the bees surrounded the soldier, he ran off, leaving Peridot very proud of herself.

"That's right, run away." Peridot said to herself, "Don't need anyone knowing I'm here after all."

"You better get moving." Jasper said, "He'll probably come back with more."

Peridot realized that Jasper was probably right and immediately bolted to the bridge.

Everyone watched as the man struggled to get out of the hold he was in, only to have his neck snapped in his fruitless effort. With him gone, there were no more soldiers to worry about. Everyone looked from the TV to Peridot.

"Skillfully done Peridot." Pearl complimented, "They didn't see you at all."

"Yes, very well done." Garnet said.

"Gotta admit, I didn't think that was even going to be possible." Lapis said.

"Well what can I say," Peridot said in haughty tone, "Some people are good at the brute force method of dealing with things, while others can be highly meticulous and figure out the best solutions to any given situations."

"Don't let that ego of yours over inflate. You might explode." Amethyst said, trying to take her down a peg.

"Well forgive me for indulging in the complements for a few moments." Peridot shot back.

"From what I hear, Pearl's the one who should be indulging herself right." Amethyst said, pointing to Pearl, "Completely destroying it yesterday."

"Oh... well," Pearl said, slightly surprised by the compliment, "Thank you, Amethyst."

"Come on Pearl, you know you've earned it." Amethyst said, "You showed them how it's done. By the way, nice shirt."

"Oh, thank you." Pearl said, "You know, I really have no idea where it came from-"

"Can we please move on from this?" Peridot asked, loosing her patience.

After everyone stopped talking, Peridot then proceeded to walk through the next door, only to be met with another cut scene.

"Remember the Alamo." Colonel Volgin said with a sinister smile on his face.

"Colonel!" Ocelot shouted, desperately trying to get him to stop, but to no avail.

The missile fired, heading straight for the abandon factory. The camera then cut back to Snake as he tried to get himself up. As he struggled, the bomb hit, setting off a massive explosion.

Everyone on the couch watched the scene, completely enthralled. Amethyst was mindlessly shoving chips in her mouth, Jasper was literally on the edge of her seat, and Pearl and Steven just sat there wide eyed.

"Wow," Garnet finally spoke up, "That was pretty intense."

"No kidding." Amethyst said with her mouth full, "Things just got a whole lot worse."

"There's no way they can just let this go." Jasper said, astonished.

"I certainly hope not." Pearl added, a bit of worry in her tone, "If something like this actually happened, there would be intense reprisals."

"Really wondering how this is gonna be handled." Lapis said.

"Hopefully things will turn out for the best." Steven quipped, "You up for the task Peridot?" he asked, turning to her.

When he looked to her, he saw that she too was wearing a very shocked look. Her wide eyes staring at the screen as the theme song began to play. But, unlike last night, there was something more to that look. Steven just wasn't quite sure what it was.

"Peridot, are you gonna be-" Steven was promptly interrupted by her.

"She betrayed them!" Peridot shouted, "How could she do that?! He trusted her!"

"Peridot, I'll admit, I do agree with you," Pearl said, "But, we don't know that much about her. Maybe she had a good reason to."

"Like what?" Peridot demanded, "Join a rogue group that's whole intent is the destruction of the planet?"

"She doesn't seem like the type that would do it without reason." Garnet said to her, "Remember what she said, 'Yesterday's good might be tomorrows evil.' Maybe she started seeing things that she thought weren't right to her."

"I can't possibly see what could be gained from doing this." Peridot said, "You follow the orders you're given. That's what being a soldier is all about. That was something else she said."

"She also said having personal feelings about your comrades is one the worst sins you can commit." Jasper added, "That's why she was able to beat him so quick."

"But she's contradicting herself." Peridot said, "She was supposed to follow her orders, but instead she goes behind everyones back and doesn't even have the courtesy to tell them why. Even after I told off Yellow Diamond, I gave her real reason."

"Alright, that's enough." Lapis interjected, "How about we actually finish this thing before we start jumping to conclusions."

Peridot just looked at her, knowing she was right, but refused to actually say it. She readjusted herself on the couch, begrudgingly getting back to the game as the theme hit its crescendo.

"Catchy." Garnet stated, tapping her fingers on the couch.

"Why'd you defect?" Snake asked.

"I didn't. I'm loyal... to the end. To my purpose. What about you, Jack? What's it going to be? Loyalty to your country, or loyalty to me? Your country, or your mentor? Your mission, or your beliefs? Your duty to your unit? Or your personal feelings? You don't know the truth yet. But sooner or later, you'll have to choose. I don't expect you to forgive me. But you can't defeat me, either. You know me too well. Just look at that bandanna. If you can't put the past behind you, you won't survive long. If we meet again, I'll kill you." Boss said.

They wall watched as the horse reared up and one of its hooves came crashing down on Snakes hand. Steven cringed, though not nearly as much as when he saw Snake's arm get broken.

"Now go home!" Boss shouted at him.

"I don't get it." Amethyst said, "How can she say she's loyal?"

"Maybe she means she's loyal to her friends," Lapis suggested as she took a sip from the drink she made for herself, "Or maybe she's loyal to a specific cause."

"Doubtful." Peridot said plainly, "It's more likely that she's trying to mess with his mind. It doesn't matter what she once was, she's now with the enemy. Like I said before, she's hypocritical to her own words."

"Maybe." Jasper said, "Or maybe she's talking about her new mission from the group she's in now."

"I don't know, you guys." Steven said, "Something doesn't feel right."

"I agree with Steven on this one." Pearl said, "Even if she said she would kill him the next time they met, why wouldn't she do it then?"

"Like I said, hardly matters now. Gotta get moving before those sentries show up." Peridot said.

"Better be careful," Garnet chimed in, "remember that you don't have any weapons."

"I'm well aware." Peridot answered.

"The pain... the pain... the pain!" the man shouted before exploding, the words echoing through the cave.

"Oh thank the stars, it's over." Peridot sighed, relaxing back into the couch.

"I was afraid you weren't gonna get it for a minute." Amethyst said, "I mean, with the way you reacted when revolver guy started attacking you, I thought it was gonna be game over."

"I only died once." Peridot shot back, "I wasn't expecting to be in a straight up fight, this game says it's all about stealth and survival."

"If you don't get found, you only have to fight the bosses." Steven said, taking a bite of the pizza that they had ordered.

"Still, you handled it pretty well once you figured out his attack pattern." Pearl added, "Both of those fights were very unconventional."

"I'll say," Jasper said, chugging the last of her drink, "Using insects as a weapon, that's just straight impractical. That would be like if Lapis could control fish."

"Weird analogy, but I guess it fits." Lapsi said, "I just wonder how a human was able to control bees in the first place."

"Something about highly advance experiments, that's pretty much all I heard." Garnet said.

"Well, I just hope there aren't many more fights like that." Peridot said, going back to the game.

"You're definitely gonna be fighting lightning guy." Amethyst said, scarfing an entire slice of pizza.

"The fear! The fear! I see it! The fear!" the man shouted before exploding , sending hundreds of darts flying. Snake was only just able to avoid being hit.

"Yeesh," Lapis said, "You go through all of that undetected just to be ambushed by that creep? What was up with his limbs?"

"Yeah, that was pretty gross." Steven said, "Good job though, Peridot. You figured him out pretty quick."

"And you managed to get through, not just the jungle and swamp, but that building without anyone noticing you." Pearl complimented.

"Well, thank you." Peridot said, trying to seem humble, "It's all about correct anticipation. Though I am wondering what that old man dressed in green is going to be about. He didn't look threatening at all."

"Well, you know what they say." Garnet said, tilting her shades down, "Looks can be deceiving."

"Ain't it the truth." Amethyst said, shape shifting into Garnet.

"You know, it creeps me out when you do that." Jasper said to Amethyst, "I keep thinking that one of these days you're gonna punk me... that's how you say that, right?"

"I probably will." Amethyst said, changing back.

"Can you two plot on each other later?" Peridot interrupted, "I'm about to get moving, and I have a feeling that you don't wanna miss it."

Both Jasper and Amethyst rolled their eyes, letting Peridot have her way. Once they were silent, Peridot again pressed on with the game.

"I beg you, grant me the strength to take this final prey. Let me linger in the world just a little longer. I have already slept enough for one lifetime... enough for an eternity. You have my thanks. I have to thank you for waking me. If you hadn't shown up... my sleep... would have been eternal. Do you hear me, Snake? I am The End. I am here to send you to your ultimate fate. You'll make a fine quarry for my final hunt." the old man said, his eye pushing out really far.

"This is bad." Peridot said, her eyes wide.

"Well it's definitely not good." Lapis said.

"Good thing you've been practicing all that stealth stuff, because it looks like it's test day, and the grader's not gonna go easy." Amethyst said.

*5 minutes later

"Where is he, where is he, where is he?" said Peridot in a hushed, almost panicking voice.

"Calm down, Peridot." Garnet said to her, "You're definitely not gonna find him by panicking."

"She's right." Pearl said, "This is going to require patience and careful planning, something you've been doing pretty well at so far. Now, show him what you're made of."

Peridot steadied herself, knowing they were right. She had managed to avoid detection the entire time and adapt to any place she went. She could handle this.

Flipping through her equipment, she pulled up the directional microphone. After a few slow spin arounds, she finally heard something. It sounded like... breathing.

"There you are." she said, mostly to herself.

*10 minutes later

"There." was heard, a shot ringing out less than a second later. Peridot, however, managed to roll behind a tree in just the nick of time.

"Okay, _that_ was _really_ close." Steven said, on the edge of his seat.

"Don't get complacent." Pearl said, her tone very serious, "You may have found him before, but that doesn't mean he can't find you too."

"I know," Peridot whispered, "But if I don't move quick, the thermal signature of his foot prints will fade and I won't be able to follow him."

"Well, I'd say you know where he is now." Amethyst whispered back.

"Why are we whispering?" Jasper asked.

"Look, just shut up." Peridot said, still whispering, "I found him, and he's going down this time."

*5 minutes later

"I've got a present for you." the man said, a flash bang going off as he ran.

"What the?" Peridot exclaimed as the screen flashed, and a high pitch ringing was heard, "Cheap trick."

"All's fair in love and war." Lapis said as she watched Paridot try to keep up with the old man.

"No, she's right." Jasper quipped, "If he had any integrity, he would face his attacker like a real soldier."

"Jasper, when you're trying to win, anything goes. Doesn't matter how dirty it seems." Amethyst said.

"Go ahead and run." Peridot said through gritted teeth, seemingly have ignored the others, "You don't have much left in you. Next time we meet, you're through."

*10 minutes later

"Spirits of the forest... I thank you." The End said, as he laid there, "The Boss... would be proud of you... The time has come... for a younger generation to rise. I've been wandering for more than a century, and now my journey comes to a close. What a splendid way... to end it all." The leaves on his uniform began to turn brown, and he let the parrot that landed on him fly away, "I have no regrets. I can return to the forest at last." He then died in the same fashion as the rest, his name echoing through the trees.

Peridot let out a long sigh, allowing herself to finally relax. A few of the others followed her example, leaning back into the couch. There were no words said for a good while.

"Of all the enemies faced so far," Peridot said, breaking the silence, "He was the best of them... The End."

"Even if I don't agree with this method of fighting, he really was one of the best." Jasper told her.

"A fierce fighter, even at the verge of death. Truly, he was an honorable enemy." Pearl said.

"I definitely wouldn't want to face him in real life." Garnet said.

"It's no wonder he got his name. He really would be the last thing you never see-" Lapis said, before being interrupted.

"Okay, am I the only one who thinks the mood was killed when his teeth flew in the air?" Amethyst said.

"Amethyst!" someone said, who turned out to be Steven, "He was great soldier."

"Who's death scene was ruined by something I would expect from a clown." Amethyst said jokingly.

"Amethyst, does one five second scene really ruin the entire thing for you?" Pearl asked.

"Uh, yeah, kinda." Amethyst responded.

"It doesn't matter." Peridot said, so stoic that you might confuse her for Garnet, "While he died honorably, the mission isn't over. I'll remember this fight, but I have to keep going."

"I see the Earth." The Fury proclaimed as he rocketed upwards. After hitting the ceiling, the structure began to collapse all around Snake, and a giant flaming face appeared in The Fury's place.

Snake quickly rolled out of the before bolting for the exit, the face exploding behind him as The Fury's name echoed.

"Well, I guess you could say, he got a little _heated_." Steven joked, only to be smacked in the face by a pillow.

"No." was all Jasper told him.

"Oh come on, Jasper. No need to get, _hot under the collar_." Amethyst said, and was then punched into wall.

"Anyone else?" Jasper asked, scowling.

"Was that really necessary?" Pearl asked, shocked.

"Yes." Jasper answered in a matter-o-fact tone, "That disease would have spread, and they just would have kept getting worse and worse.

"Would it have spread like a _wild fire_?" Lapis asked, snidely.

"That's it." Jasper jumped up, ready to strangle Lapis, only to be stopped by Garnet.

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Garnet said, making Jasper sit down again, "The puns are dead on arrival as is, we don't need to add one of us to the list."

"I have to say, that boss fight was disappointing." Peridot said, "Maybe it's just because of The End, but I feel like that was far less of a challenge."

"I can see what you mean." Pearl said, "Though you probably are right in thinking it's because of the last boss."

"Well, it's still not over." Garnet said, sitting back down, "You still got The Boss, and Colonel Volgin to deal with."

"True." Peridot answered, "There are no more Cobras to defend them now."

"Ow," Amethyst said, walking back in and sitting down, "Thanks a lot, I really wanted to put a hole in the wall."

"You're welcome." Jasper sneered.

"You made him a soldier, and now you will unmake him. Yes, it will make for a touching display. He's all yours. Do it! Ruin him. Just as he did the Cobras." Volgin ordered.

"She wouldn't." Pearl gasped.

Everyone watched as Boss drew a knife, and ripped the bag off of Snake's head. She raised the knife, aiming for his left eye.

"She would." Amethyst rebutted.

Peridot simple watched, her teeth clenched tight as the blade drew closer and closer. Would this really be it?

"Stop!" Tatyana said, grabbing the The Boss's arm. Everyone on the couch let out a collective sigh, thankful they would not have to watch, and Pearl took her hands off Stevens eyes.

"I actually thought she was gonna do it." Lapis said, her hand over her chest.

"Me too." Jasper said.

"For a moment, so did I." Garnet agreed with them.

"I can not imagine how painful that would be." Pearl said.

"Can't be much worse than Jasper giving you a nose job." Amethyst said, not even trying to be subtle.

"Uh oh." Peridot said, not seeming to have paid attention to anything they said.

Everyone looked to her for a second, and then looked right back at the screen.

"Here we go." Ocelot said as he began to juggle his three revolvers.

Once again, everyone was on the edge of their seats. They watched as he flipped the revolvers before firing on of them. He continued on until the third shot, which Snake deflected by swinging his body into Ocelot. This caused the fired round to miss Tatyana, but also caused Snake's right eye to be shot out.

"AH!" Steven shouted, covering his own eye, almost as if feeling the pain himself.

"Oh my god!" Lapis shouted.

"How is he even still alive!?" Pearl questioned.

As Peridot looked away from the screen, she had the biggest cringe on her face.

"This does not bode well." she thought out loud.

"Sad... so sad... a host of sorrows. And you are one of them. I am The Sorrow. Like you, I, too, am filled with sadness. This world is one of sadness. Battle brings death. Death brings sorrow. The living... may not hear them. Their voices... may fall upon deaf ears. But make no mistake... the dead... are not silent. Now you will know the sorrow of those whose lives you have ended." The ghostly figure said.

"Okay, this certainly just took a turn for the unusual." Pearl said.

As the cut scene ended, Peridot readied herself. But, when the fight started, she was confused to see that the boss had no health of stamina.

"What's going on?" Peridot asked, "How am I supposed to beat him?"

"Maybe you don't." Steven answered, "Maybe he's already gone."

"He said you will know the sorrow of those you've killed." Garnet said, "Maybe he means you have to endure seeing every life you took in the game."

Peridot wasn't sure how to respond, so decided to just push forward. As she did, she saw all the ghostly figures of every single person in the game she killed. Even the ones of the boss fights. She began to grow very uncomfortable, especially when the screen would flash showing disturbing images. Every time this happened, she jumped.

Eventually, The Sorrow showed up again.

"Go back to your own world!" he spoke in a hushed, breathy voice. Seconds after he said that, Snake dropped dead. Peridot just stared at the screen, wondering what happened.

"What just happened?" She question.

"You died, that's what happened." Amethyst said smugly.

"What! What did I do wrong? Oh, this is such-" before she could finish, she accidentally tapped one of the buttons, which brought up her inventory.

Upon seeing this, Peridot started scrolling through things, but none of them were usable. None of them except the revival pill. Not wasting a second, Peridot activated it. Just she she did, the screen faded, and returned to the game.

"Yes!" Peridot exclaimed, "Thought you could trick me? Well think again! Game: Zero, Peridot: Infinity!"

"Don't go celebrating just yet." Garnet said, "You've still got a ways to go."

"Why must you always spoil my victories?" asked grumpily.

"Fried by a bolt of lightning... a fitting end. It's finally over." Snake said as he watch Volgin's corpse burn.

Peridot was panting heavily at this point. The last hour had been rough, but she pulled it off. After seeing this in front of her, she slumped back into the couch, almost mentally exhausted.

"WOOHOO! You did it!" Steven cheered to her.

"Masterfully done." Garnet said with a smile, giving her a thumbs up.

"That was a lot of trial and error, but I knew if anyone could do it, it would be you!" Pearl congratulated her.

"Master Peri in the house!" Amethyst shouted.

"That's our master tactician!" Jasper said, giving her a light tap on the shoulder.

"Way to go Peridot! You really earned that victory!" Lapis said smiling.

Peridot looked around and smiled, blushing slightly at all of the praise. She took one final breath before speaking.

"Thanks everyone. That was not easy."

"Well, you deserve it." Garnet said, still holding her smile.

Peridot simply returned the warm smile, and held it as she turned her attention back to the game.

"Let's make this the greatest 10 minutes of our lives, Jack." The Boss said as she loaded her weapon.

"Boss!" Snake begged.

"You're a soldier! Finish your mission! Prove your loyalty!" she ordered him, and he drew his knife and pistol.

"Face me!"

Everyone looked to Peridot, who's mouth was slightly agape from what she just heard. They knew just by looking at her that she had definitely been effected by Boss's words.

"Peridot?" Pearl said, getting her attention, "Are you ready to do this?"

For the first time, Peridot actually was not sure. She let her head hang for a second, thinking over everything that had happened since she started this adventure. How so many things had changed. However, she realized that she could think forever, but none of it would matter. There was only one of two things she could do: Accept defeat or finish her mission.

She lifted her head and furrowed her brow. Steeling herself, she spoke in a firm, confident voice as she spoke one simple word.

"Yes."

With one final grapple, Snake brought The Boss down once and for all. As the cut scene began to play, Peridot let out a soft sigh. It was finally almost over. Everyone watched in silence as the two conversed one last time.

"You're a wonderful man. Kill me. Kill me now. Do it. There's only room for one Boss... and one Snake..." The Boss pleaded. Slowly, Snake pointed her gun at her, but he didn't pull the trigger.

Everyone waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. They then looked to Peridot, still transfixed on the screen.

"You have to do it." Garnet said, getting Peridot's attention. "You have to pull the trigger."

"What?" Peridot said in shock. She simply looked at all of them as they waited for her to do it. Then Steven put his hand on her shoulder.

"You have to Peridot. It's her last wish." Steven said to her, his large eyes breaking through her resistance.

Turning back to the game, Peridot hovered her thumb over the button. After a short time, and a lot self protest, she tapped the button. A shot rang out, and Peridot let her head hang briefly.

"She may have been a traitor," Peridot said softly, "but she had passion. Passion for what she really believed in, passion for the ones she called her friends, and passion for any mission she was given. While I still don't fully see eye to eye on her reasons, I can at least respect them."

"Wow." was all Lapis could manage to say.

"Good work." Garnet said to her, "That's not just a good step for understanding the game, but also a good step in real life as well."

Peridot simply nodded to her, and then got back to what she hoped was to be the last of the game.

"But I think she wanted you of all people to know the truth. She wanted to live on in your memory. Not as a soldier, but as a woman. But she was forbidden to tell you herself. And that's why she told me." Eva's voice said.

Everyone stared at the screen, each with their own unique range of emotions and facial expression. Some still not able believe what they were hearing.

"Snake, history will never know what she did."

Pearl placed her hands over her mouth as tears formed in her eyes.

"Her story... her debriefing... will endure only in your heart."

Garnet let her mouth hang open slightly as she leaned in closer.

"Everything she did, she did for her country."

Amethyst simply sat and let tears freely run down her face in silence.

"She sacrificed her life and honor for her native land."

Jasper was trying her absolute hardest to force back the tears, but it was a loosing battle.

"She was a real hero."

Lapis was bit one of her fingers, trying to focus on something other than the sadness.

"She was a true Patriot." Big Boss saluted the tombstone, a tear running down his face.

Steven sniffed loudly, wiping the tears from his face.

"That really was something." Steven said, and then looked to Peridot.

Peridot's eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open, and large trails of tears were running down her face. She proceeded to stand and gently placed the controller down. After allowing her shoulders to slump low, she started to slowly walk away from the group.

"Peridot, where are you going?" Steven asked her, tears still in his eyes.

"I'm gonna go cry for a few hours," she mumbled, and then proceeded to start talking to herself as she sobbed, "I was completely wrong. She was never a traitor at all."

As she walked away Steven looked to all the other gems, which none had changed their expressions.

"How in the world could anyone do that?" Pearl said, her voice hitching several times.

"She gave up everything for people who didn't even care about her." Amethyst said, now openly crying.

"That took a lot of power... more than any of us have... that's for sure." Jasper said, trying and failing to keep herself composed.

"Paying the ultimate price... and everyone hates you for it. It's so wrong." Lapis sobbed.

Pearl, Amethyst and Lapis all stood up and started walking in the direction that Peridot went.

"Where are you guys going?" Steven called to them.

"To join her." Pearl said with out looking at him.

"The greatest of heros are the ones who are okay with being forgotten." Garnet said, finally breaking her silence, "But this... to have your name constantly be associated with treason and crimes... all for the sake of greed... it just feels like kicking someone when their down."

Steven then saw a tear start rolling down Garnets face. It was on the right side, so he already knew who it was, but then he saw the other side as well. He honestly didn't expect Sapphire to be effected by that.

Suddenly, Steven heard a door slam. He looked around, wondering where it came from. He thought for a moment, then his eyes went wide in a bad realization. He then bolted to the bathroom. He tried the knob, but it was locked... and he could hear soft crying coming from the other side.

"Guys, can you open up? I've been holding it since The End." Steven called to them.

"No." he heard a soft voice whimper, instantly recognizing it as Peridot.

"I have something for you." Steven said, holding something up to the door.

The door opened a bit, revealing Peridot's sorrow filled face. She looked down to see him holding a shirt... and on the front it read "The Boss". Immediately Peridot snatched the shirt, and then closed the door.

Steven waited for a moment, thinking she would open up like before... only to hear the door lock again.


	3. Letter from Me

Authors note:

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that I will be accepting requests for games. Depending on which is the most popular will likely determine which gets written first. It also depends on how familiar I am with the request games. If I know one game more then another, I will likely do that first. But in all, I welcome suggestions of most types.

Rules:

No overly gory games

no computer game

no games that did not receive an official English release

Okay, I think that's it for now. Glad you guys are enjoying it, and thank you so much for the support. Have a good one.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: San Francisco Rush 2049 /w side game**

"Okay, what do you say we take a break from the heavy hitting stuff today, huh?" Steven asked, looking at everyone on the couch.

"Yeah, I could use the break." Peridot said in monotone voice, proudly wearing the shirt she was given.

"Great!' Steven said happily, "Let's find something that all of us can enjoy." He then literally dived into the box and began digging through everything."Oh! This looks like fun!"

Steven poked his head out of the box, a big smile on his face. After managing to worm his way out of the box, Steven held the game above his head as if he'd found the holy grail. Everyone looked at the game, and the first thing they noticed was the car. The title of the game was 'San Francisco Rush 2049'.

"What's this one?" Amethyst asked.

"It's a racing game. And, let's see..." Steven took a moment to read the back of the case, "Yes! It's up to four players! Who wants to go first?"

Everyone looked around at each other, waiting for someone to volunteer.

"Eh, why not?" Jasper said, "I think I could use something to get my mind off of... our last endeavors." Steven smiled to her, jumping back into the box to get the necessary console and controllers.

"Alright Jasper, why don't you start out with a single race? Give it a quick test run, then we'll get into the fun part." Steven said, handing her one of the controllers.

"Whatever." Jasper said, starting the game in the settings Steven told her. After selecting her track and vehicle, she started the race.

"3,2,1 RUSH!"

Everyone watched as Jasper's car rocketed out of the starting line, just managing to make it into third place. At first, it seemed like a straight forward, what you see is what you get, kind of game. That was fine by Jasper, she didn't need anything overly complicated after her last attempt at playing.

Her car sped up the hill, causing it to go airborne after getting over the crest. Steven yelled out to her to press a specific button. Jasper did as she was told, quickly pressing the button Steven told her about. A set of wings came from her car, causing her to glide farther, managing to get her into second place.

"Nice!" Amethyst exclaimed, "I'm liking this already."

"Certainly is a nice change of pace." Pearl added.

"Quiet," Jasper said, "if I'm going to win this, I need to concentrate."

"Well look who's all serious all of a sudden." Lapis said with a grin. Jasper didn't pay her any mind.

There was a loud sound heard, and everyone looked to see that the front door had been forced open. Just as everyone's eyes were on the door, someone came through, followed by four others.

"Ha, we finally found all of you." Doc proclaimed, "It took us the better part of... I don't know how long, but we finally found you."

"Crud." Lapis said.

"You may have tricked us before, but it won't be happening again." Eye Ball said.

"YEAH!" Army yelled.

"How about all of you shut up?!" Jasper shouted, not having taken her attention away from the screen, "I'm trying to concentrate here."

All of the Rubies stopped, finally noticing that Jasper was sitting right in front of them. They just stared wide-eyed to see her there, while the gems were a little shocked that Jasper hadn't been paying attention.

"On your right Jasper, a short cut." Steven informed her, seeming to be in the same state.

"Nice, first place at last." Jasper said, watching her vehicle finally get to the front.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Doc said, "We've seen this trick before. How do we know that isn't just the same gem who shape shifted?"

"Because I'm over here, stupid." Amethyst said, "Add to that, I'm not orange."

"Oh... right." Doc said, "Well... even if that is the case, I'm making sure."

Doc and the rest of the Rubies approached Jasper, who still hadn't taken her attention away from the race.

"Jasper, if that is who you are, we have searched for a long time to find you, but we must make sure that-"

"Didn't I just tell you to shut up?" Jasper said as she paused the game to look at the Rubies, "Now, if you really wanna be useful, take a seat and watch a master at the top of her game."

"But, why are you with these-"

"Cop a squat!" Jasper said, loosing her patience, "If I hear one more word directed to me while I'm playing, I will personally shatter you myself!"

Doc looked back at the rest of the rubies, giving them a questioning glance. Leggy was hiding behind Navy and Army, while Eyeball simply gave her a nod. With that, the five rubies sat around the table.

"What's going on?" Navy asked to anyone.

"We're..." Steven began, "Doing an advanced simulation of earth tactics."

"Earth tactics?" Leggy asked.

"Yeah," Peridot said, "Jasper has requested that all earth based tactics be presented to her. So that we can analyze and assess all things that might be used against us."

The rubies looked amongst each other, all giving unsure glances. Many of them were not sure what to make of what was going on, but the fact of the mater was that Jasper was actually in front of them this time. Or... as much as they could tell.

"Yes!" Jasper shouted as her car went through the finish line, "First place, that's what I'm talking about!"

"What sort of training is this?" Army asked.

"Huh?" Jasper responded, "Oh, uh... it's... a look into how humans and gems can advance vehicles into something that will rival our own. I'm making sure that our army can master them if we capture one."

"Interesting." Eyeball said, "It might be useful if more than one of us learned how to use this."

"Uh..." Jasper responded, knowing her word was law at that time, "Yeah... you're right. Grab the other controllers and four of you can start the training."

"Right!" Doc exclaimed, "Rubies, get ready! We are about to experience a human/gem machine training that no one has every been through."

All five of the rubies cheered at the proclamation. Steven and Jasper got to work setting the home world gems up with the controllers that they would need. After some minor deliberation, they both decided that starting them out in race mode would be the best option.

*one hour later

"Oh come on!" Army shouted as her car blew up for the sixth time.

"How can I be that low?" Navy asked, seeing that she was in last place.

"Alright, here we go." Doc said, managing to finally get into second place, only to run into a wall, "WHAT?!"

"How are we supposed to learn this?" Leggy asked from the side lines.

As the five rubies continued to play and observe, everyone on the couch simply looked on in absolute shock.

"Oh my stars," Peridot said, "They are terrible."

"I can't believe what I'm saying," Garnet said, "but you're right. They are absolutely horrendous at this.

"I can't believe it took them that long just to figure out how to go forward." Amethyst said, he jaw almost on the floor.

"I don't claim to be an expert," Pearl said, "but, mother of mercy, this is painful to watch."

"Just when I thought I'd seen the worst of the worst." Lapis said, unable to look away.

"You know, with the shock wearing off slightly," Steven quipped, "I just realized that we still have to do something about them."

"Huh?" Jasper said, "Oh, right. We still have to figure out how we're going to deal with... this."

Between the two of them, Steven and Jasper started to look around, thinking of a way that they might be able to get rid of the Rubies. Or, at the very least, keep them somewhere they wouldn't be able to bother anyone.

Steven looked to the box, ad then an idea formed in his head. While everyone else sat there watching the Rubies make a fool out of themselves, Steven went to the box to see if he could find what he was looking for. After digging a bit, he found what he was looking for.

After worming his way out of the box, Steven went back over to Jasper and showed her what he had. After she gave him a puzzled look, Steven motioned for her to come closer. He brought his hand to her ear, whispering so that only she could hear. As Steven explained, Jasper began to grin deviously.

"Kid, sometimes you can be truly evil." Jasper said after he finished.

Steven returned the smile she was giving, knowing full well that what they were about to do. Jasper got up and walked to the side of the room, putting her hands on her hips.

"Rubies, front and center!" she commanded.

The five Rubies immediately drooped what they were doing and got into formation in front of Jasper. The rest of the Gems simply looked on, wondering what was going on.

"Alright Rubies," Jasper began, "After seeing your performance here, it's clear that you are ready of some of the most advanced training that these Simulations have to offer. With the aid of this young human, I will take you to the most sought after area were the real training will begin.

The five Rubies looked up to Jasper in awe, hardly able to believe that they had done so well as to receive advanced training. Everyone on the couch looked to Jasper in disbelief, wonder what had gotten into her.

"Human!" Jasper called to Steven, giving a sly wink, "Gather what will be necessary for this highly advanced training."

"Yes ma'am!" Steven said, giving her a salute and winking back.

Steven began digging into the box to find the things he would need. After coming back out with an armful of systems and games, he went to go with Jasper. Only to be stopped when he felt Pearl grab his arm.

"Steven, what is going on?" Pearl questioned, "What are you and Jasper planning?"

"Just trust me Pearl." Steven told her, "We're going to make sure that these guys can't bother anyone any more. In the mean time, you guys try battle mode, or maybe the obstacle coarse."

After Pearl let go of his arm, Steven went to join Jasper, who took a few of the things out of his arms. The two of them went out the front door, the five Rubies in tow. Those remaining simply looked at each other, wonder what could be going on. After a few seconds of silence, it was Amethyst to speak up.

"Well, since they're not here," Amethyst said, picking up the controller, "might as well give this thing a try."

"You're seriously not worried?" Pearl asked.

"Nope." Amethyst said, getting back to the main menu.

"You don't thin anything is going to go wrong?" Pearl asked again.

"Why should it?" Amethyst said, throwing Garnet a controller, "He's got Jasper with him, he'll be just fine."

"But what could they possibly-" Pearl attempted to say, only to be interrupted.

"Oh come on, Pearl." Lapis said, taking the third controller, "You really think those five little idiots are going to out smart them... no offense Garnet."

"None taken." Garnet said, picking the fourth controller, giving it to Pearl, "Just relax Pearl. Everything is going to turn out fine."

Pearl looked from the controller to Garnet, who was giving her a friendly smile. If it was anyone else telling her that Pearl would have been far most hesitant. After a few more seconds of worry, Pearl took the controller, everyone giving her a happy smile in the process.

"Alright," Amethyst declared, "lets see what this course is about."

*2 hours later

"Ha ha," Amethyst laughed as she destroyed a vehicle, "got you Pearl."

"Only because you're looking at my screen." Pearl argued.

"Don't be such a sore loser Pearl." Amethyst said, only to have her own vehicle be destroyed by a shock wave. Amethyst went wide eyed for a second, then looked over to Lapis giving her a cocky grin.

"You know that weapon is overpowered." Amethyst said, a small bit of anger in her voice.

"What happened to not being a sore loser, Amethyst?" Lapis retorted.

"Well at least I can say I actually finished the obstacle course." Amethyst shot back.

"That's not saying much," Peridot said, "You came in dead last out of everyone that tried."

Before Amethyst could say anything back, everyone heard the front door open. They all looked to see that Jasper and Steven had come back, both of them wearing very proud grins on their face.

"Where have you two been?" Pearl asked as the two of them took their seats.

"Making sure that the Stupid Squad won't be bothering anyone ever again." Jasper said proudly as she took her seat back on the couch.

"What did you do?" Peridot asked.

Steven and Jasper looked at the group before looking back at each other, passing each other knowing smiles.

* * *

"Not again!" Doc shouted, watching her character die once more.

"You have to be on the look out for all projectiles." Eyeball said, leaning in close to the TV.

"Oh dear," Navy said, "This really is the greatest test."

"We can't let Jasper down!" Army said, "She's counting on us. Once we master these simulations, we'll be able to handle anything the earth throws at us."

All of the Rubies cheered at the proclamation, getting back to the game. They were inside of Greg's storage unit, huddled around the old TV with a copy of Silver Surfer in. Beside them were several other games and systems. Games like: Battle Toads, Ninja Guiden Black, Uninvited, Demon Souls, Milon's Secret Castle, RC Stunt Copter, and many more.

* * *

"Let's just say," Steven snickered, "They're going to be busy for a very long time."

"Worst case scenario," Jasper added, "We've got probably ten thousand years. Best case scenario, we've got until the heat death of the universe."

"That sounds a bit cruel." Garnet said, a small smile on her face.

"Isn't it though? I tell ya, this kid can be truly malicious sometimes." Jasper said, giving Steven a high-five.

"Just a good thing that there were doubles in there." Steven said with a smile, "Oh, that reminds me!" Steven jumped back over to the box, crawling back inside to find what he was looking for.

"Last time I was in here, I found some things in here that all of us can use." Steven said, poking his head out of the box.

"What is it?" Peridot asked.

Rather than answering, Steven came out of the box with an armful of little devices and tiny cartridges. After laying them out on the table, he inserted the games into the small consoles.

"What are these?" Lapis asked, her curiosity peaked.

"Hand held systems." Steven answered, "This way we can all play on the go. I already have the perfect game for all of us too."

Steven held up the colored cartridge, showing a picture of a strange looking animal that none of the gems had ever seen. On the front it read; Pokemon.

"What's a Pokemon?" Jasper asked.

"It's a really fun game," Steven said, making sure all the games worked, "and it's really simple. All you have to do is go around in the game, collect the little creatures and win battles."

"Interesting." Pearl said.

"I know." Steven said as he began to hand out the hand helds, "Garnet can have red, Pearl can have blue, Peridot yellow, Jasper gold, Lapis silver, ans Amethyst gets crystal."

All of the gems simply looked at the devices in their hands. All of them were different colors and sizes, but they all appeared to have the same buttons.

"What about you?" Amethyst asked, fiddling with her game.

"Don't worry, I've got my own." Steven said, holding up a clear version of the system. "We can play these when we're not here, or if it's not our turn."

The gems looked from Steven to each other and simply shrugged, figuring that there was no harm in it. A few of them turned on the systems to see what it was, and then started playing.

"Great." Steven said, picking up one of the controllers, "Now, who's ready to race?"

"I'm in." amethyst said.

"Me too." Jasper said, picking up a controller.

"Sure, I was having fun." Lapis said, picking up the last controller.

"You guys go ahead," Peridot said, not looking up from the small screen in her hands, "the three of us are going to see what this is about.

Steven saw that Garnet, Pearl and Peridot had already quickly become invested in the game. He smiled, happy that they were getting into it. Turning back to the big screen, Steven set the rest of them up for a normal race. As the cameras zoomed in on the four cars, he and the other readied themselves.

"3,2,1 RUSH!"


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Contra and beyond**

"Oh wow," Steven said, pulling the upper half of his body out of the box, "I've played this one before, a really long time ago."

All of the Gems sat on the couch, waiting patiently for Steven to bring out the next game. He'd decided to take it back to some of the older ones in the box and had dug for a good minute.

"This one's a classic." Steven said, holding up the cartridge for everyone to see, "It can also have two people playing at the same time."

"Well that sounds fun." Lapis said.

"Yeah, by the looks of the picture on the front, it could be pretty intense." Amethyst said.

"You guys go ahead," Pearl said, looking down at her game, "I'm pretty interested in this now."

Everyone looked to Pearl, who was engrossed by the small device in her hands. She had been playing that game for a good while, probably the most out of all of them. Steven didn't pay it much mind, instead focusing on getting the game set up.

"Why don't we do a two player run." Steven suggested, "Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go." Lapis volunteered, "It was pretty fun playing with others last time, maybe this will be just as good."

"Well, if you going, then I'm joining you." Peridot said, "I didn't play that much yesterday, and I think a game that doesn't have an overly elaborate story might be good for me."

"Great!" Steven said excitedly, "Let's get this going then." Steven handed the two gems the controllers, then went to hit the power button.

The title screen to the game popped on to the TV, and the first thing that all of them noticed was how much different it was from the last few games they were playing. No overly fancy options or elaborate menu's, just 1 or 2 player.

"Well this doesn't look like it will be too bad." Lapis said.

"Well you'll mostly only be dealing with left or right," Steven told the two, "but this game is known to be pretty hard."

"I think that if we're only dealing with two directions it'll be no problem." Peridot said, selecting two players.

As the two little sprites appeared on-screen, Lapis and Peridot quickly learned the simple controls and began moving to the right. Along the way, the two of them easily started to get to know the ins and outs of the power ups in the games.

Surprisingly, the two seemed to be working well off each other. Even managing to make it to the first boss without losing a single life.

"Wow," Steven said, "you guys are doing pretty well."

"I'm surprised myself." Lapis said, "I thought for sure that Peridot would be freaking out again."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you went through what we did a couple of days ago." Peridot said.

"I wish I was around for that," Lapis said with a smirk, "I could have used the laugh."

"When do you not need a laugh, oh mighty queen of depression?" Peridot retorted. Lapis furrowed her brow and grumbled.

"Hey, come on guys." Steven said, "We were having fun yesterday, and you were just having fun now."

Lapis and Peridot just looked from Steven, to the screen and then back at each other. After a short stare off, the two simply nodded and got back to the game, intent on making it at least enjoyable.

"I bet you a pizza that Peridot flips out." Jasper whispered to Amethyst.

"I bet you two that they both flip out." Amethyst responded.

"You're on." Jasper answered.

*10 minutes later

"Will you stop doing that!" Lapis shouted at Peridot, watching her character die as the screen scrolled up.

"Well maybe if you moved a little quicker, you wouldn't have to worry about the screen killing you." Peridot said, and then watched her own character get killed, "Dang it!"

"Maybe the real problem is that you keep trying to rush without looking!" Lapis said in a snide.

"Right, and your snail pace didn't get you killed in the hallway?" Peridot said, "You lost all of your lives because you spent so much time planning and not acting."

"You lost all of your lives at the boss because you didn't take time to see the pattern." Lapis said, "You just charged in with out any thought of what's to come."

"At your pace it wouldn't even matter," Peridot said, venom slipping into her tone, "You go so slow that you get hit before you can even come up with a plan."

The two looked away from the screen to look at each other, giving seething glares. Only to realize that they had not paused the game, causing both to lose their last lives. After the familiar death noise sounded, both of them looked back to the screen in mild surprise.

After seeing that they would have to start at the beginning of the level, the two of them looked back at each other with the same angered glares. Before they could resume their arguing, they heard loud snickering.

"You owe me two." Amethyst informed Jasper, unable to contain her giggles.

"I don't even care." Jasper said, desperately trying to not burst into laughter, "It's so worth it just to see these two loose it on each other."

"Guys come on," Steven said, "let's not have a repeat of the first day."

As angry as Peridot and Lapis were, they decided to heed Steven's words. So, they gritted their teeth and started up the game once more. After finally managing to beat the level's boss, they managed to get just a bit farther before Peridot lost all of her lives.

"Oh, what the!" was all Peridot said.

"I told you to slow down." Lapis said, before she was hit with a projectile.

"Yeah, and it looks like that got you in the same place." Peridot retorted.

With both of them having lost all of their lives again, they assumed that it meant they were going to have to start the level over once again. As they both let out long huffs of annoyance, they were surprised to see what came up on the screen.

'GAME OVER'

Both of them looked on as the screen immediately went back to the main title.

"What happened?" Lapis asked, "Did you press something?"

"No," Peridot said, "I'm just as confused as you."

"Uh, yeah, that's something I forgot to mention." Steven said, getting everyone's attention, "With these older games, it's usually three lives and three continues, then you have to start all the way back at the beginning."

Upon hearing this, both Lapis and Peridot went wide-eyed. They would not be able to keep going. Lapis was the first to react, slamming the controller down on the couch and then crossing her arms in anger.

"Well forget that!" Lapis fumed, "I am not going through all that again. Not with Ms. I-can't-stop-to-think."

"Well I don't wanna go through that again either!" Peridot said, "Ms. Slower-than-molasses."

The two of them glared at each other once more, about to go back at another round of name calling, before they heard Amethyst break out into a fit of laughter.

"Even after you two have stopped playing you don't quit," Amethyst chuckled, "I love it!"

"Seriously, it's hysterical!" Jasper added, "I don't know what made you think that you two could work off of each other, but I'm hardly complaining after that show."

"Well, if it's so funny, then how about you two play?" Lapis said, pulling her attention away from Peridot, "We could use a laugh after all that."

"Sure, fork'em over." Amethyst said without hesitation, "You two have completely different chemistry, but the two of us at least have similar tactics."

"What's that?" Peridot asked as she levitated the controllers over to them, "Proclaiming your greatness and then being surprised when you get beaten?"

"Make jokes now," Jasper said, taking the small controller in her hands, "You won't be so smug when we make it farther."

"I'm not doubting that you'll get farther," Lapis said, crossing her legs as she leaned back into the couch, "I'm questioning how long it will take for the two of you to lose your tempers."

"Can't speak for my comrade," Amethyst remarked, "but I wouldn't be placing bets on me. After yesterday, I'm feeling good-"

Amethyst was interrupted when a knock at the door was heard. Pearl called out that the door was open over her shoulder, not taking her attention away from the small screen in her hands. The door opened, revealing it to Greg.

"Hey guys," he greeted everyone, "Sorry to pop by unannounced, but I haven't heard from anyone in a while."

"Hello Greg," Garnet greeted him, "Sorry for not checking in, we've been a little preoccupied."

"So I heard," Greg said, rubbing the back of his head as he recalled all the shouting that everyone in town could hear, "But uh, I also wanted to ask if you guys know anything about the weird noises coming from my- Hey, I haven't seen that game in years!"

"You've seen this game before?" Pearl asked, managing to pry herself away from her own game.

"Yeah, it's a classic." Greg said excitedly.

"Well pull up a seat," Lapis offered, "we're about to see how long these two can last."

"A lot longer than you two." Jasper said, as Greg went to get one of Steven's bean bags, "I can say with certainty that we will not have the same problems."

*10 minutes later

"Hey, I needed that!" Amethyst yelled, watching Jasper take the power up.

"Ya snooze, ya lose!" Jasper said.

"You didn't even need that, you already had an upgrade!" Amethyst said, anger clear in her voice.

The two of them had managed to get to level four without needing to use any of their continues, but it had proved to be a very rough ride. While the two of them had managed to be on the same level when it came to strategy, everyone quickly saw that they couldn't work out who got what when it came to power ups.

"Alright," Peridot said, now wear a green visor, holding a small notebook and having tooth pick in her mouth, "Greg, you had Amethyst on level four. You put down a bag of chips, Steven and Lapis put down a donut and a bottle of cola, respectively. Pay him you two."

The two of them let out groans of disappointment, but they did what they were told and gave the stuff to a very happy Greg.

"Why are you wearing that?" Jasper asked Peridot.

"I'm what the humans call a bookie." Peridot answered, taking the tooth pick out of her mouth, "Just figured I would look the part."

"Where did you get all that stuff anyway?" Amethyst asked, only to see her character get killed, "That was my last life!"

Jasper let out a short chuckle, only to see her character get killed as well. Unfortunately, that was her last life as well. The two exchanged angry glances before starting the level up once more.

"This time, don't go hogging everything for yourself." Amethyst said to Jasper.

"This time, don't go complaining when you're not able to get the fire power you need." Jasper retorted.

"We wouldn't have that problem if you just learn that you don't need to snatch everything up." Amethyst said.

"Well maybe if you-" Jasper went to argue, but was cut off when she felt a hand on chest.

"That's it, I'm stopping this." Garnet said, taking the controller from Amethyst.

"Aw come on." Greg complained, "I had Jasper on the same level."

"Sorry Greg, but this is getting more dangerous by the second." Garnet told him, attempting to reach of Jasper's controller.

'I don't think so." Jasper said, grabbing Garnet's arm, "Like I said before, you don't tell us we're being ridiculous without trying it for yourself first."

Jasper held the controller out to Garnet, giving the fusion a smug look. Garnet simply stood there for a few seconds, looking between Jasper and the controller, contemplating what she should do. After a short while longer, Garnet gently took the controller from Jasper.

"Alright" was all Garnet said, before taking her place in front of the TV.

"Should I start-up a new list?" Peridot asked to anyone, readying her pen and paper.

"Sure." Garnet said, hitting the start button.

*20 minutes later

Garnet was on the last stage, mowing down the aliens and puff balls that chased her. After taking out a few more enemies, Garnet finally arrived at the last boss; A big heart.

"So that's the red falcon?" Greg questioned, "I can see the red, but not the falcon."

After only a few seconds of consistent fire from the spread gun, the heart exploded, giving off that familiar jingle of victory. Everyone watched as the short cinematic played, leaving Garnet with a grin on her face.

"Well," Garnet said, looking at everyone, "That was fun."

Everyone looked on at the screen, completely wide-eyed at what happened. Jasper shook her head, managing to herself out of the trance.

"You only got that far because you saw all the levels before hand. I'm willing to bet that, if you went into all of this without knowing what was going to happen, you wouldn't have lasted anywhere near as long." Jasper said.

"I guess we'll never know." Garnet said, a hint of smugness in her voice.

"Well, maybe we could." Steven said, getting everyone's attention, "They made a sequel for this game, but I don't know if-" He was interrupted when Jasper grabbed him and pulled him to her face.

"Find it." she ordered, tossing him into the box.

"Jasper!" Pearl scolded, "Be careful, you could have hurt him."

"He's fine." Jasper assured her.

"I'm fine." Steven reaffirmed from inside the box.

"Well you didn't know that when you threw him." Pearl said.

"Here it is." Steven said, managing to crawl out of the box, "A lot of people don't know about this one, but I've heard people say it's harder. Oh, and there's something I forgot to tell everyone."

"What's that?" Garnet asked, as everyone looked over to Steven.

"There was a code for the last game that would give you thirty lives." Steven said softly, watch the former players go wide-eyed. He could feel the anger coming from Lapis, Peridot, Jasper and Amethyst.

"And you didn't think that it would be a good idea to tell us that?" Amethyst asked, clearly trying to bite back her anger.

"Cheating will get you no where." Garnet said, before Steven had to endure everyone's wrath, "Besides, I just proved that it can be done without it."

"Let's see if that statement holds any water." Jasper said, anger clear in her voice, "You playing this next one without a code and you're playing it first."

"Fine." Garnet said, calmly taking the controller as Steven turned the game on.

Everyone watched as the games menu rolled on to the screen. As Garnet began the game, the first thing that all of them saw was that the game was almost exactly like the last one. Garnet seemed to be doing well at the start, but it was only the beginning.

"Okay," Peridot said, readying her notepad, "Who's in on this one?"

"I'm in." Greg said.

"Alright, we got Greg in," Peridot said, doing her best impression of a betting clerk, "Come on people, what are you putting down, we may not have much time."

*25 minutes later

The ceiling started slamming down just above the head of Garnet's character. Even with the endless hoards of monsters following her, she kept moving forward, only taking out the enemies that she absolutely needed to.

After she managed to get past that, she reached the last level. As the boss appeared, Garnet kept herself stoic, ready to end it once and for all. She was quick to figure out the weakness, and it only took a few seconds before she took down the boss. As the ending tune played and the credits began to roll, Garnet relaxed and smiled to herself.

"Again, that was really fun." Garnet said, calmly, "So who won that one?"

Peridot shook off her blank stare, looking down to her notepad. Garnet look to everyone else, who were staring at the screen in mild shock. Even Greg seemed to be impressed with the skill Garnet showed off.

"Uh, that would be Steven." Peridot answered, receiving collective groans from everyone.

"Pay up." Garnet told all of them, then looked over to Jasper, "How was that?"

"It was too simple," Jasper said to her, "You were only working with two button. I still think that, if you hadn't taken the controllers away, Amethyst and I would have beat the game."

"Let's put that to the test than." Garnet said, who then looked to Steven, "Any other ones in there?"

"Well, they made a third one. It was on a different system though-" Steven was cut off when he was picked up and tossed into the box again.

"Find it," Jasper called out to him, "I'm not letting this go."

"You know, I could have sworn I told you not to do that." Pearl said, looking up from her own game.

"No you didn't," Jasper retorted, "You said to be careful, and I was."

"How on earth was that careful?" Pearl questioned.

"He didn't say he was hurt, so he's fine." Jasper said.

"I found it." Steven called out, before Pearl could scold Jasper.

"If you keep it up, something will happen," Pearl told Jasper, "and I'll be right here to say I told you so."

Jasper just gave her a smug grin as Steven began to set up the new console. After he was done setting up, Steven gave the controller to Garnet, who readily accepted it. As the game started up, the main menu presented itself. Before anyone could get a word out, Garnet went into the options and switched the game into hard mode.

"Don't want you thinking that I'm trying to cheat on you." Garnet told Jasper, as she gave a coy smile.

"Creepy." Jasper commented in a dry tone, "That being said, let's get to it."

*30 minutes later

As the now armored brain chased after the helicopter, Garnet kept herself ready. Using the crusher missiles she still had with her, it only took a few blasts before the alien started exploding, ending the last boss once and for all. As the screen faded, everyone watched as the text appeared on-screen:

 _'Way to go! You've conquered the toughest Contra challenge yet. Your heroic deeds have restored peace to a war-torn world. The Alien Forces have been destroyed by a gaming champion! Your efforts will not be forgotten...'_

"Well... that was fun." Garnet said, her face still stoic and unaffected, "Can't say I cared for those top down levels, but it was still good."

"Yeah..." Peridot said, the tooth pick hanging on the edge of her mouth, "Well no one put anything down on that out come, so no winner."

"Should have known." Amethyst said with a sigh, "You'd think after two games, someone _else_ would have known too."

Everyone looked to Jasper, who simple looked on wide-eyed. However, that blank look soon began to shift into a more angered one. Jasper visibly clenched her teeth and began grinding them so hard that they looked ready to crack.

"I've got your angle now." Jasper told Garnet.

"What are you talking about?" Garnet asked.

"There has to be another one." Jasper said to Steven, picking him up once more.

"Yes, there is another." Steven sighed before stopping Jasper from rearing him back, "Allow me."

Before she could ask what he meant, Steven stood on Jaspers hand and jumped into the box on his own accord.

"OW!" everyone heard Steven shout from inside the box, "Okay, that one hurt!" Pearl looked up from her game, glaring at Jasper.

"Don't look at me, he did it to himself." Jasper said defensively.

"Why are you still hung up on this?" Garnet asked.

"Because I now know why you've got by so easily." Jasper told her.

A few moments later Steven came back out of the box with another system in his hands. He went to work setting it up, popping the cartridge in.

"I've never played this one," Steven said, "but I've heard some people say they like it more than the last one."

"Well does it still have two player?" Jasper asked him.

"Yeah, why?" Steven said.

"Because I'm making this next one interesting." Jasper said, an evil smile growing on her face.

"What do you mean by that?" Greg asked.

"She's been getting off easy up until this point." Jasper said, "She's only been doing one player while the rest of us have had to do it with two players. So for this next one, she has to play through the whole thing," Jasper made a motion of pulling apart with her hands, "unfused."

There were several gasps heard, and everyone looked to Garnet. She simply stared at Jasper, not conveying any emotion at all. Jasper stared right back, giving that same smug grin. After a few moments longer, Garnet gave an answer.

"Fine." Garnet said, reaching for the two controllers.

"Hold it." Jasper interrupted, "How about we make this a little more interesting?"

"How?" Garnet asked.

"If the two of you can't do it," Jasper said, "you have to spend the rest of the day unfused."

Everyone's eyes went wide, and they all looked to Garnet. Again, she was doing her best not to convey any emotion, but several of them did notice a small twitch come from the underside of her face.

"What happens if they do win?" Garnet questioned.

"Your choice." Jasper said, only to immediately regret saying that.

"You can't saying anything for the rest of the day, unless it's something nice."

Jasper gave a shocked look, cringe at the circumstances of the bet. Not one to be a coward, however, she knew she had to take the offer. She stretched her hand out, meeting with Garnets. They both shook hands.

"Alright, a real bet!" Peridot said, "Do I have anyone else on this? Come on people we gotta move quick, the shows about to start!"

After everyone was done putting their bets down, Garnet burst into a flash of light. Ruby and Sapphire sat next to each other, looking over to Jasper with peeved looks. Jasper simply grinned at them.

"Lets see how well this perfect fusion does when they have to rely on their own skills." Jasper said.

Before either of them could retort, Steven handed Ruby and Sapphire the controllers. It had less buttons to deal with, but they knew it wouldn't mean less difficult. The menu appeared before them, and Ruby immediately went to pick the two player option.

They then saw something that the last games didn't have: character choice. After a few seconds of deliberation, the two of them picked their characters. Ruby would be using Fang the wolfman, and Sapphire would use Browny the robot.

"Remember how we practiced." Sapphire said to Ruby as the cut scene played, "When I say something, don't hesitate, just do it."

"Got it." Ruby said in an energetic voice.

"Practiced?" Jasper said.

"Oh you'll see, slag brain." Ruby said, giving Jasper a half smirk, "You will see."

The game began, an armored truck came careening into view while plowing through several enemies. It crashed into another vehicle, releasing the two characters.

"Keep your shots ahead, I'll take the ones up high." Sapphire told Ruby, who simply did what she said.

With two of them now playing, things didn't go as fast, but they did manage to keep themselves alive while taking out all enemies. The entire time Sapphire was saying clear and concise orders to Ruby, who was able to execute what she said within a moments notice.

"Stay where I am, keep firing up." Sapphire said, as the two of them kept shooting at the large robot. Mere seconds later, the mini boss collapsed.

"I need these two power ups," Sapphire said, "They're going to be more useful to us, and you have your strongest weapons already."

"Go ahead." Ruby responded without a second thought.

Everyone looked on in partial amazement at how easily the two communicated with each other. They kept at a pace that both could keep up with, and both were making sure that the other had what they needed.

As everyone looked on, Jasper tried to keep her calm demeanor. They couldn't keep this up forever... could they?

*30 minutes later

"Get all the way over to the left pod, the others are going to collapse." Sapphire said, trying to keep herself from getting overly excited.

From the way things seemed to be going, the two of them were approaching the end of the game. Things had got slightly heated a couple of times, with Sapphire making wrong predictions, costing both of them a few lives. Now they were both down to their last ones.

"Climb," Sapphire said, as the two sprites jumped on the rocket, "don't worry about anything else. Just get as high as you can."

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked, questioning her for the first time.

"Trust me." Sapphire assured her.

"I do trust you." Ruby said, making her character climb.

Eventually, the two of them made it to the top of the rocket, where the last boss finally revealed itself. A gigantic pulsating head monster.

"Do as I say, exactly when I say it." Sapphire said, her voice becoming serious.

"Understood." Ruby said, only being slightly dramatic.

The battle began, but the two of them were ready. While Sapphire took up the job of attacking the boss's weak point, Ruby had the task of making sure nothing got to two of them. Several times the two of them had to slide to dodge the on coming attacks. Finally, after a short while, the creature erupted into a fiery explosion.

The two watched as the final cut scene played, their characters flying away from the exploding rocket. It was only when the credits began rolling that the two of them knew it was alright to relax.

 **CONTRA: HARD CORPS** \- _see you next mission_

 _ **GOOD JOB**_

"YEEEEAAAHHH, that's what I'm talking about!" Ruby shouted, tossing the controller into the air.

"That was certainly invigorating." Sapphire said with a broad smile, placing her controller down.

"All thanks to you, Sapphy!" Ruby said, embracing Sapphire.

"Well I don't think we would have made it that far without your lightning reflexes." Sapphire complemented.

"Only because you were there, making sure I knew where to shoot." Ruby said, giving her partner a kiss on the cheek. Everyone else looked at the two, both impressed and only a tad bit uncomfortable.

"Well," Peridot said, trying to sound some what professional, "with all that done, lets take a look at who gets what from this bet. Amethyst, you had them beating the game without losing any lives, sorry but they did lose a couple."

"Aw man." Amethyst complained.

As Peridot started reading of the list of the bets placed, Jasper simply looked at the screen, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. The expression didn't last long, as her face slowly contorted into a more furious look. She bore her teeth, clenched so hard that one tooth actually started to crack. Her face began to go crimson, and if she had any veins they would have bulged out. A few were looking at her, slightly terrified of what was to come.

"FFF-" she began, but was cut off by a flash of light.

"Don't tell me you already forgot our agreement." Garnet said, tilting her shades down and giving Jasper a little wink.

"-FFFFFFfffffine job, Garnet." Jasper said, desperately trying to keep the anger out of her voice, "That took... a lot of patience. You two really... knew what you were doing."

Everyone looked at Jasper, all trying to contain their laughter. Jasper looked around as everyone sniggered at her, try her absolute hardest to not go ballistic.

"I'm so glad that all of you can enjoy this." Jasper said in a forced tone of happiness, "Hopefully, one day... I'll be able to laugh right along with you."

"EH, not bad." Garnet said, the only one of group who wasn't laughing, "But there's something I don't get."

"What's that?" Jasper answered half-heartedly.

"Are you really that slow that waited until the fourth game to place this bet?" Garnet asked, a smirk appearing on her face.

"I guess..." Jasper said, giving a big forced smile, "I guess I just didn't think about it at the time. Now, if you will excuse me, there are a few things I must take care of."

"Why don't I give you a hand?" Amethyst said, as she watched Jasper try to leave, "After all, we wouldn't want you getting confused with more than one thought."

"I appreciate the offer," Jasper said, clenching her fists, "but I'll be just fine... thank you."

"Nonsense," Amethyst said, getting up from the couch, "I insist. What are friends for, right?"

Jasper wanted to make another attempt to argue, but she couldn't figure out another polite way to say No. So, begrudgingly, she walked off with Amethyst in tow.

"Oh man," Lapis said, after the two left, "it is always a treat to see her taken down a few pegs."

"Not gonna lie," Greg said, "I thought she was going to go on a rampage there for a second."

"She might have," Garnet said, smiling to herself, "but even she has to respect a commitment."

"Hey Garnet," Steven said, tugging her arm, "This is for you."

Garnet looked to see Steven holding a shirt up to her. She took it and held it up in front of herself. On the front it read "No Code Needed". She smiled again, slipping the shirt over her head.

"Thank you, Steven." she said, musing up the boy's hair, "What do you say we got get something for dinner?"

"Yeah!" Steven said, excitedly.

"Greg, would you like to stay for supper?" Garnet asked Greg as she got up from the couch.

"If it means I can see Jasper be forced to be nice some more, I would be honored." Greg said with a smile.

* * *

 **Well hello, my very patient readers. First off, I would like to thank you for waiting for this. I'm sorry it was such a long time, but was in need of a vacation from everything. That being said, the next chapter shouldn't take as long. Provided life does not get in the way.**

 **Also, just a little notice, the poll for chapter 6 will be up until chapter 5 is posted. After that, the poll will be closed and I will be starting on the second fan requested game. Okay, I think that covers it for now. Thank you for your support, thank you for the suggestions, and thank you for enjoying this.**

 **Have a good one.**


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